Macbeth - Supernatural Theme

The presence of supernatural forces in William Shakespeare's, "Macbeth," provides for much of the play's dramatic tension and the mounting suspense. Several supernatural apparitions throughout the play profoundly affect Macbeth and the evil forces eventually claim Macbeth and destroy his morals. Macbeth's ambition was driven by the prophecies of the three witches and unlike Banquo, he was willing to do anything to assure that they actually transpire. Macbeth is horrified at the notion of killing Duncan, his King and kinsman, but he eventually succumbs to the evil forces and this leads to his downfall. Macbeth further compromises his honor by arranging the murder of his best friend, Banquo. Banquo's places Macbeth in a precarious situation; he is deeply entrenched in suspicion and there is no way out. Macbeth's vision of Banquo's ghost at a royal banquet only drives him closer to insanity. Macbeth has changed dramatically as a character throughout the play. Macbeth was tortured with remorse after Duncan's murder but upon hearing of Banquo's successful assassination he is elated. His vaulting ambition was driving him to extreme measures and he could do nothing to abate it. Macbeth had risked his life to attain the throne and he had no choice but to employ Machiavellian practices to retain it. The appearance of Banquo's ghost at the royal banquet horrifies Macbeth. Shakespeare brilliantly uses irony to make Banquo's emergence very dramatic: Macbeth: Fail not our feast.

Banquo: My lord, I will not.(III, i, ll 28-29)

Banquo's appearance provides insight into the character of Macbeth. It shows the level that Macbeth's mind has recessed to. His morality is declining and although he is battling his conscience, the evil forces have overcome his every thought and action. Banquo's ghost only appears to Macbeth and it represents his extreme guilt. Although he may have lost his honor he still is having trouble enjoying the crown when he...

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...In the play "Macbeth," there were many interesting sections which could be concentrated on due to the suspense and the involvement of the supernatural. The use of the supernatural in the witches, the visions, the ghost, and the apparitions is a key element in making the concept of the play work and in making the play interesting. Looking through each Act and Scene of the play, it is noticed that the supernatural is definitely a major factor on the play's style.
The use of the supernatural occurs at the beginning of the play, with three witches predicting the fate of Macbeth. This gives the audience a clue to what the future holds for Macbeth. "When the battles lost and won"(Act I, Scene I, l.4) was said by the second witch. It says that every battle is lost by one side and won by another. Macbeth's fate is that he will win the battle, but will lose his time of victory for the battle of his soul.
After the prophecies of the witches' revealed the fate of Macbeth, the plan in which to gain power of the throne is brought up. The only way to gain power of the throne was for Macbeth to work his way to the throne, or to murder King Duncan. Murdering the king was an easier plan since the motivation in his dreams urged him on. Lady Macbeth also relied on the supernatural by her soliloquy of calling upon the evil spirits to...

...L. Botos
21 December 2012
The Supernatural in Macbeth
The supernatural contributes significantly to the story in the thrilling play Macbeth, written by Shakespeare. The paranormal signs and powers show considerable overlap with insanity in the case of several characters throughout the play. The superhuman agents that appear or contacted in the play are used for evil purposes in almost all the cases, and are predominantly resulting in the death of a human being. First of all, the three witches are using supernatural powers throughout the play to achieve their baleful plan. In the beginning of the play, the three witches are murmuring incantations for perpetrating metaphysical communications escorted by the supernatural agents. The three witches are undoubtedly seeking evil powers while executing their spellings: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair. / Hover through the fog and filthy air.” (All the witches 1.1.10-11) Fair things are considered to be foul, and foul things to be fair by the witches as they are confessing their ultimate acceptance of evil. They also call the wickedness to hover in the dirty air, therefore they are asking the supernatural to act evil. The filthy air is most probably meaning an atmosphere which is contaminated with dirty or sinful things, such as a war or a murder scene. Secondly, Macbeth's dreadful visions and Lady Macbeth's eerie rituals, which...

...dawn of time the supernatural has existed side by side with the sole purpose of causing havoc and pain in man’s world. In the play Macbeth the deceptive powers of the super-natural is a key manipulator on Macbeth’s actions. The supernatural had planted a seed of evil in Macbeth's mind that grew to dominate and manipulate his mind. The hallucination of Banquo caused by the supernatural had caused Macbeth to lose his sanity. The witches were easily able to control Macbeth’s mind, they had made Macbeth believe that he was invincible; causing him to willingly continue to fighting when he knew that it would mean his doom. Macbeth's downfall was planned and executed by the weird sisters Making Macbeth but a mere victim of the supernatural.
Shakespeare puts a great highlight on the deceptive powers of the supernatural and show’s exactly how the supernatural can ever so slowly take control of your life he shows this through the way Macbeth was continuously manipulated through first the prophecies then the ghost of Banquo and finally the apparitions.
Since man’s creation man has always been manipulated with the knowledge of his future. Macbeth is not responsible for his actions and was manipulated by the witches in the play the weird sister had planned the downfall of Macbeth since the very...

...daggers? Good afternoon fellow classmates, I’m here to talk to you about the supernatural elements in the play Macbeth. This is the integral part of the structure of the plot. It provides a catalyst for action, an insight into character, and augments the impact of many key scenes. The supernatural appears to the audience in many varied forms – not only does a ghost appear but also a floating dagger, witches, and prophetic apparitions make appearances. In Shakespeare’s day and age, there was a lot of controversy about the supernatural. He was not the only one who believed in the supernatural very strongly, in fact a majority of people were frightened of it, including the king of that time.
Now back to the play. The witches were a symbol of evil, and Shakespeare uses this fear of the devil to give his plays an additional eerie atmosphere and haunting effect. They intrigue the audience to see if they are correct in their prophecies. The witches are the voice of unnaturalness and disorder. Lady Macbeth is strongly influenced by their powers and names the witches as the “metaphysical aid”, who promise so much to her husband. It is Macbeth who needs the witches to tell him what is in his own mind, but is too afraid to acknowledge, as he refers to them as “instruments of darkness”.
Another form of the supernatural is the air-drawn dagger which leads...

...﻿Macbeth was written in the 1600s for the new king, James 1. The play was written with the King’s interests in mind. It echoes his fascination with the supernatural, especially witchcraft. Macbeth was therefore written to please the King’s interests.
We are first introduced to the supernatural in the opening scene of the play. This scene is extremely brief which helps to create a sense of mystery and wonder. In this scene Shakespeare presents three witches meeting in the middle of a violent storm. Their riddling rhymes show that they use supernatural powers and that they are inhuman. Shakespeare also heightens the atmosphere by the first word that he uses: ‘When’ – a question. From this other questions quickly follow. When the witches say that the air is ‘filthy’ this suggests that dark deeds are about to happen. The theme of the supernatural has already been set within the first scene of the play. The witches, as Shakespeare presents them, are ambiguous creatures. The fact that they are evil is shown in the final couplet: ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’. Meaning good is bad and bad is good. Therfore from the very start of the play the witches are violating God’s natural order, showing that they are supernatural beings.
The witches are an evil supernatural force. They have the ability to predict the future and cast spells. This gives them a...

...world of witchcraft and wizardry) we see witches as magical beings with spells, potions, wands and regular quidditch matches. We do not see these individuals as the awful and disgusting creatures that were exiled in the sixteenth century. Throughout the Elizabethan Era more than sixteen thousand men and women were prosecuted under the belief that they were practicing witchcraft or associating/worshiping the devil. William Shakespeare knew of the hysteria upon the subject during this time and he recognized the fascination King James 1st had with the paranormal and mystical aspects of the world, and with that knowledge he composed the play “The Tragedy of Macbeth”. Throughout The Tragedy of Macbeth, there are many themes present. One of the most significant of the themes displayed would be that of witchcraft and the supernatural. This can be verified by exploring what exactly caused the witch hunts and when they began, who was accused of witchcraft and the punishments that followed as well as the relevance of these factors within the play itself.
The first of the witch hunts in Europe were held at the beginning of the fifteenth century. The problems stemming towards the witch hunts had been brewing since the end of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In which, the Catholic and Christian Churches began prosecuting members of their diocese to the regard that they were thought to be sorcerers, worshipers...

...Major Themes
Prophecy
The plot of Macbeth is set in motion ostensibly by the prophecy of the three witches. The prophecy fans the flames of ambition within Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, serving as the primary impetus for the couple to plot the death of Duncan--and subsequently Banquo. But one also wonders: Would Macbeth have committed such heinous crimes if not for the prophecy? What if he had ignored the witches’ statements? Such speculation, however interesting, ultimately appears futile, since the prophecy itself is self-fulfilling. The witches know Macbeth’s tragic flaw: given the irresistible temptation to become King, he will choose to commit murder even though he could simply discard their words. As it turns out, the prophecies are not only fated but fatal, as Macbeth's confidence in the witches leads him to fight a rash battle in the final act.
Guilt and Remorse
Some of the most famous and poetic lines from Macbeth are expressions of remorse. “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” exclaims Macbeth after he stabs Duncan (II ii 58-59). Similarly, Lady Macbeth is plagued by a “spot” that she cannot remove from her hand: “Out, damned spot! Out, I say. . . What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” (V I 30-37). At first physical remainders of a regrettable crime, the royal blood leaves permanent marks on the psyche of the couple,...

...The play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare in the beginning of the 17th century, deals with a man&#8217;s turn from the king&#8217;s most glorious, brave and courageous general into a traitor and murderer influenced by evil forces.
In the following I am going to describe the play briefly and explain the theme of it. Furthermore I will discuss Macbeth&#8217;s character and his internal conflict.
While the general Macbeth and his friend Banquo are returning from a victorious battle, King Duncan hears of their courage and bestows the title of Cawdor on the still absent Macbeth. The two warriors encounter three witches who greet Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and &#8222;(&#8230;) King hereafter&#8220;. They prophesize that Banquo will become king though he will not himself be one. Macbeth, who is already Thane of Glamis, is startled when two messengers from the king greet him as the new Thane of Cawdor, thus fulfilling the witches&#8216; prophecy in part. When Macbeth learns that Duncan&#8217;s son Malcolm has been appointed Prince of Cumberland, automatic successor to the throne, he momentarily entertains the idea of killing the king and so begins the ultimate prediction of the witches.
Banquo resists any thoughts that might hasten the witches&#8216; prophecy that his children will be kings. Lady Macbeth, however,...